Black Lions
Encyclopedia
The Black Lions was a resistance movement
formed to fight against Italian occupation of the Ethiopian Empire
.
.
The Black Lions convinced Ras
Imru Haile Selassie
to join them. Ras Imru was appointed by Emperor
Haile Selassie as Prince Regent
in his absence. Ras Imru was to reorganize and continue to resist the Italians. To do this, he fell back to Gore
in southern Ethiopia. On 19 December 1936, after the Italians pinned him down on the north bank of the Gojeb River
, Ras Imru surrendered. The Black Lions organization then collapsed and many of its members were liquidated.
Resistance movement
A resistance movement is a group or collection of individual groups, dedicated to opposing an invader in an occupied country or the government of a sovereign state. It may seek to achieve its objects through either the use of nonviolent resistance or the use of armed force...
formed to fight against Italian occupation of the Ethiopian Empire
Ethiopian Empire
The Ethiopian Empire also known as Abyssinia, covered a geographical area that the present-day northern half of Ethiopia and Eritrea covers, and included in its peripheries Zeila, Djibouti, Yemen and Western Saudi Arabia...
.
Details
The Black Lions dominated the early resistance movement in Ethiopia. Members of the Black Lions included students from the Oletta Military Academy and foreign-educated Ethiopians. The military academy was founded in 1935 and is located in Holeta GenetHoleta Genet
Holeta Genet is a town in central Ethiopia. Located in the Mirab Shewa Zone of the Oromia Region, it has a latitude and longitude of and an altitude of 2391 meters above sea level....
.
The Black Lions convinced Ras
Ethiopian aristocratic and court titles
Until the end of the monarchy in 1974, there were two categories of nobility in Ethiopia: the Mesafint or princes, hereditary nobles, formed the upper echelon of the ruling class; while the Mekwanint were the appointed nobles, often of humble birth, who formed the bulk of the nobility...
Imru Haile Selassie
Imru Haile Selassie
Leul Ras Imru Haile Selassie was an Ethiopian noble, soldier, and diplomat. He was also the cousin of Emperor Haile Selassie.-Biography:...
to join them. Ras Imru was appointed by Emperor
Emperor of Ethiopia
The Emperor of Ethiopia was the hereditary ruler of Ethiopia until the abolition of the monarchy in 1974. The Emperor was the head of state and head of government, with ultimate executive, judicial and legislative power in that country...
Haile Selassie as Prince Regent
Prince Regent
A prince regent is a prince who rules a monarchy as regent instead of a monarch, e.g., due to the Sovereign's incapacity or absence ....
in his absence. Ras Imru was to reorganize and continue to resist the Italians. To do this, he fell back to Gore
Gore, Ethiopia
Gore is a town in southwestern Ethiopia. Located south of Metu in the Illubabor Zone of the Oromia Region, this town has a latitude and longitude of and an elevation of 2085 meters....
in southern Ethiopia. On 19 December 1936, after the Italians pinned him down on the north bank of the Gojeb River
Gojeb River
The Gojeb River is eastward-flowing tributary of the Omo River in Ethiopia. It rises in the mountains of Guma, flowing in almost a direct line its confluence with the Omo at....
, Ras Imru surrendered. The Black Lions organization then collapsed and many of its members were liquidated.